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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
dark
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
reflective
medium-paced
I enjoyed the short narrative but do wish the characters had more development. Overall, I found the story eerily predictive of humanity’s increased reliance on technology. I can easily see how this story could spark a lot of discussion about the dangers of relying on technology and our progressive use of machines and electronics. Forster was very ahead of his timing in writing this. As the entertainment of especially young people has moved from outside to in front of a screen, younger and future generations would do well to read between the lines and discover the warnings Forster lays out by letting machines control daily life.
Prophetic! Reading this today made me chill to my core. I had to constantly remind myself that this was written in the 1920s and NOT recently. Forester describes not only technologies like the internet or video conferencing, but also the impact on the human condition as we withdraw more and more to our own safe bubbles. Throughout the book Forester refers to "direct experience anxiety". What an accurate description. This as the result of someone used to experience life mostly through technology and isolated in a small space and then returning to a new normal life, like finding ourselves suddenly anxious near people at the grocery store when this was such a mundane activity of the near past. I was utterly marveled by the mind of E.M. Forester. I'm so much hoping our civilization has a better future than the one described in the book.
I'll be thinking about this book for many days.
I'll be thinking about this book for many days.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I get chills every time I read this; Forster’s foresight into the internet age is uncomfortably eerie and marvellously constructed.
I first read The Machine Stops during COVID-19; and it’s story of isolation and machine domination hit me like a tsunami. This novella was written in 1909, 114 years ago to be precise, and it predicted things such as Skype, the internet, and even Y2K. And yet this isn’t a story about marvellous gadgets and future technologies, it’s a story about us, the people, and how said technology can change the very bones of what it means to be human.
The Machine Stops made me think as someone now living in the machine age; how can I still foster my growth as a human being? And perhaps it is making sure to stay connected to the natural world. No human advancement is great if it leaves our planet and humanity behind.
This is one of the greatest science-fiction stories ever written, and my favourite novella too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Suicide
This novella is very depressing.